Ted Cruz’s daddy presumes to educate black folks on the history of civil rights legislation

Wednesday

Sep 3, 2014 at 12:20 PMSep 3, 2014 at 2:35 PM

For years now, I’ve occasionally been treated to distorted arguments from conservative readers who want to remind me that Democrats were the prevailing political force in the segregationist South of 50 years ago.

These pseudo-historians ignore the fact that most of the segregationist politicians in the South — Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, for example — switched to the Republican Party when Northern Democrats began pushing for civil rights. They also ignore the fact that the GOP, under Richard Nixon, pointedly pursued a so-called Southern Strategy that was far less sympathetic to civil rights than the stance assumed by Democrats.

But none of those arguments I’ve heard from conservative readers has been as ridiculous as remarks made recently by evangelist Rafael Cruz, the father of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

In a speech before a Republican group, the elder Cruz RECOUNTED a conversation he had with a black pastor in California:

I said, as a matter of fact, “Did you know that Civil Rights legislation was passed by Republicans? It was passed by a Republican Senate under the threat of a filibuster by the Democrats,” ‘Oh, I didnít know that.’ And then I said, “Did you know that every member of the Ku Klux Klan were Democrats from the South?” ĎOh I didnít know that.í You know, they [black people] need to be educated.

But, of course, it’s Pastor Cruz who needs to be educated.

It was not a Republican Senate that passed the legislation† to which he referred, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In fact, Democrats outnumbered Republicans in that Senate by a whopping margin of 66 to 34. And in fact, Democratic votes for the bill outnumbered those of Republicans by a margin of 46 to 21.

Granted, Republicans under the leadership of Sen. Everett Dirksen of Illinois played an important role in breaking a filibuster of the bill by Southern segregationist Democrats. But that isn’t what Rev. Cruz said.

Nor did he say anything about the broader issue of Southern Democrats subsequently switching to the GOP.

So, who is this guy to say that black folks need to be educated on these matters?

For years now, I’ve occasionally been treated to distorted arguments from conservative readers who want to remind me that Democrats were the prevailing political force in the segregationist South of 50 years ago.

These pseudo-historians ignore the fact that most of the segregationist politicians in the South — Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, for example — switched to the Republican Party when Northern Democrats began pushing for civil rights. They also ignore the fact that the GOP, under Richard Nixon, pointedly pursued a so-called Southern Strategy that was far less sympathetic to civil rights than the stance assumed by Democrats.

But none of those arguments I’ve heard from conservative readers has been as ridiculous as remarks made recently by evangelist Rafael Cruz, the father of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

In a speech before a Republican group, the elder Cruz RECOUNTED a conversation he had with a black pastor in California:

I said, as a matter of fact, “Did you know that Civil Rights legislation was passed by Republicans? It was passed by a Republican Senate under the threat of a filibuster by the Democrats,” ‘Oh, I didnít know that.’ And then I said, “Did you know that every member of the Ku Klux Klan were Democrats from the South?” ĎOh I didnít know that.í You know, they [black people] need to be educated.

But, of course, it’s Pastor Cruz who needs to be educated.

It was not a Republican Senate that passed the legislation† to which he referred, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In fact, Democrats outnumbered Republicans in that Senate by a whopping margin of 66 to 34. And in fact, Democratic votes for the bill outnumbered those of Republicans by a margin of 46 to 21.

Granted, Republicans under the leadership of Sen. Everett Dirksen of Illinois played an important role in breaking a filibuster of the bill by Southern segregationist Democrats. But that isn’t what Rev. Cruz said.

Nor did he say anything about the broader issue of Southern Democrats subsequently switching to the GOP.

So, who is this guy to say that black folks need to be educated on these matters?

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